(Guy Hamilton, UK, rated PG, 117 minutes)
By relocating Agatha Christie's 1941 novel Evil Under the Sun from the South of England to an Adriatic Sea island, director Guy Hamilton makes the title more literal than ever: there's plenty of sun and an abundance of evil.
The four-time James Bond filmmaker's 1982 feature followed three previous Christie adaptations, including 1978's Death on the Nile, featuring some of the same actors, that sparked an Agatha Christie-on-screen resurgence.
Peter Ustinov, who would assume the role six times, plays the sleuth as an avuncular sort who stands in opposition to David Suchet's reserved take on the long-running ITV/PBS series and the Oscar-nominated Albert Finney's stylized version in Sidney Lumet's 1974 Murder on the Orient Express.
Before covering the aftermath, Hamilton, who took on Christie's The Mirror Crack'd in 1980, first establishes the problematic perimeters of Arlena's life. Preening writer Rex (Roddy McDowall) has been toiling away on her biography when she declares that she won't sign the release agreement.
Daphne, a former king's mistress with whom she trades bon mots, isn't especially fond of her, and Arlena's put-upon husband, Kenneth (Denis Quilley, who previously appeared in Lumet's Murder on the Orient Express), feels neglected as she spends all of her time with Patrick (Excalibur's Nicholas Clay), a Latin instructor who parades around in revealing swim trunks.
Since Arlena and Patrick are so flagrant with their affections, everyone knows about the affair, including Patrick's self-pitying wife, Christine (Jane Birkin, back for more after Death on the Nile), who wears hula hoop-sized hats and ankle-length caftans to shield her skin from the sun, and Arlena's mopey stepdaughter, Linda (Emily Hone), who snaps at everyone.
Other guests include producers Odell and Myra Gardener (James Mason and Sylvia Miles), who aim to cast Arlena in their new play, and Sir Blatt, who arrives later. Beyond the central mystery, a convoluted affair both entertaining and preposterous, the film doubles as a tourist board tribute to Hamilton's Majorca hometown with steep cliffs rising out of cerulean waters.
Against all expectations, though, Hamilton's diversion didn't live up to box office expectations, but it's a fun romp enlivened by game performances, music by Cole Porter, and a quotable screenplay from Sleuth's Anthony Shaffer with an uncredited assist from Crimes of Passion's Barry Sandler.
With Agatha Christie back in vogue by way of Kenneth Branagh's recent adaptations, the time is ripe for rediscovery, not least because Rian Johnson has cited it as an influence on his hit 2019 whodunit Knives Out for which he has been working on the first of several planned sequels.
Blu-ray extras include a vintage featurette, trailers for co-producers John Brabourne and Richard Goodwin's other Christie adaptations, and chatty commentary from Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell, and Nathaniel Thompson.
Evil Under the Sun is more a product of the expansive time it was made than the more austere time it was written, and that's a big part of its appeal: the 1980s in full, indulgent flower.
Evil Under the Sun (Special Edition) is available on Blu-ray and streaming via Kino Lorber. Images from Victoria Dowd (Diana Rigg), Jared Mobarak (Albert Finney as Hercule Poirot), MUBI (Peter Ustinov, Nicholas Clay, and Maggie Smith), and Pinterest (Jane Birkin and Nicholas Clay).